Tap Tap "On My Way"

Tap Tap’s debut, Lanzafame, was a myriad of lo-fi indie pop that was equally big on charm, but feeble on execution. Three years on and Tap Tap have regrouped with a more polished and cohesive album. But it's only after multiple listens that something more sinister lies in the soft underbelly of their latest, On My Way. The album wanders through a web of failed relationships, paranoia, booze, and drugs which is pretty standard rock & roll fare, right? Sure, but as one of my undervalued finds of 2009, On My Way consistently packs the hooks and is emboldened with lively moments of the darkest humor—courtesy of lead singer Thomas Sanders—you’ll find from today’s brand of artist.

The downside to all this? On My Way is only available via the band's U.K. record label, Stolen Recordings, in mp3 format. Otherwise, it has yet to be released state side. Don't ask me how many Pounds per Dollar either, I got you this far.

HALF MOON STREET

CODINE

The Smith Westerns "1st LP"

Mod, garage, and 60’s pop find a new twist on an old game with the Smith Western’s debut release, 1^st LP. Never sounding cocky or brash, the Smith Westerns sound like they spent their high school daze holed up in a garage listening to old 25 cent Salvation Army records instead of wading through chemistry textbooks. None of the band members are old enough to buy liquor yet, but that hasn’t led to any less of an unruly dive bar presence beyond the mumbled lyrics and floor to ceiling wall of fuzz.

TONIGHT

Top Albums of 2009!

By now you've been bombarded with list after of list of the best this and that of 2009. I'm about to add to your misery.

Electric Soul Radio's favorite albums listed below are in no particular order because there generally wasn't one particular album that defined 2009 like last year's In Ear Park by the Department of Eagles. That being said, Electric Soul Radio is simply a one man wrecking crew and positively missed out on probably hundreds of other worthy releases this year. Hint hint, the comments area is wide open people!

Don't forget to check out the 2009 Playlist below the reviews.

Brian Olive - Brian Olive: Brian Olive bursts on the scene with a debut solo album that conjures the soulful R&B of the famed Stax label in Memphis, channeling everything that was loose, gritty, and sexy in America during the 60's and 70's.

M. Ward - Hold Time: This may not be the most challenging record of 2009, but it’s difficult to overlook a body of work this satisfying from beginning to end. See "Rave On" for one of the best Buddy Holly covers ever.

Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid: Dan Auerbach sheds his Black Keys' partner and surprisingly delivers the most full body blues album of the year. The album's unruliness comes from a heady dose of reverb, distortion, and grit; not fully captured since Muddy Waters' signature '68 release, Electric Mud.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Up From Below: With former Ima Robot leader, Alex Ebert, as the group's centerpiece, this 11-piece hippie-folk collective from L.A. blindsides the indie community with a free-flowing, vibrant, and whimsical West Coast-influenced album that held firm as the cornerstone of my summer listening.

Desolation Wilderness - New Universe: New Universe is a deliberate, hypnosis-inducing echo-pop masterpiece—not to mention one of the most underrated releases of the year. With an eclectic amount of lo-fi, dream-pop groups crowding each other out this year, it was Desolation Wilderness' shimmering melody and soaring songcraft that elevated them above the rest. 

Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions - Through the Devil Softly: She's the reigning queen of somber Goth-folk and I'll be damned if I didn't fall in love with every melancholy moment on her second full-blown solo album.

Circulatory System - Signal Morning: After an 8 year hiatus, Circulatory System, aka Will Cullen Hart, disasembles his fondness for Beatles-esque pop into an eclectic, mostly distorted rock and roll circus, jilting the rest of the 2009 field by redefining yet again what it means to make bedroom pop.

The Flaming Lips - Embryonic: In a welcome 180 degree reversal from their previous album, The Flaming Lips spike the well and reconnect with their Oklahoma City roots on this sprawling double-disc trip. Embryonic is a tightly-packed labor of love, full of intricate splashes of psychedelia, organic effects, and Wayne Coyne's signature overtures that amplifies the surreal and represses the ordinary.

Black Moth Super Rainbow - Eating Us: No one does weird (well almost no one: see the Flaming Lips) quite like Pittsburgh’s Black Moth Super Rainbow and for the first time they look to an outside producer in Dave Fridmann. The results are no less than a beautiful and maddening collection of acid soaked trip-hop tracks that seemingly fade in and out of each other in a psychotic embrace.

Girls - Album: Album impressively stands as one of the years best indie records through a playful assortment of surf, psychedelic, and 60’s pop. Expect the unexpected from an album that features "Hellhole Ratrace," a chilling and personal elegy about growing old, to "Big Bad Mean Motherfucker," a hellraising tribute to 50's rockabilly.

The Almighty Defenders "The Almighty Defenders"

Defending our right to gritty blues punk are none other than members of Black Lips and King Khan & BBQ Show—rebranding themselves The Almighty Defenders. There is a common fluidity that flows freely among these groups, binding their interests in garage rock, setting the stage for the inevitable collaboration resulting in the album, The Almighty Defenders.

While I never received the religious experience one might expect from listening to an album of gospel punk, there is still plenty of reason to jostle and gyrate with the Defenders’ as your unrepentant saviors of soul. The album may not be that much of a stretch from what we would normally hear from the Black Lips or King Khan & BBQ Show, but does it really matter? They're not looking to reinvent the genre, they're more interested in having a good time. Amen to that!

I'M COMING HOME

Thee Oh Sees "Dog Poison"

One thing that originally lured me into Thee Oh Sees’ garage rock party was the inherent rock & roll mojo between lead vocalist, John Dwyer, and keyboardist/background vocalist, Brigid Dawson. By joining forces, garage rock just sounds sexier (if that’s possible), and apart, Thee Oh Sees still spin an eccentric blend of psychedelic rock revivalism that never sounds gimmicky or pretentious.

But, Dawson's presence is muddled, rendering Dog Poison more hidden, drugged, and distracted by more effects and distortion than their previous two efforts—both within the last 12 months. Dog Poison isn’t their best to date, yet it doesn’t mean there aren’t moments of noise-pop brilliance, i.e., “I Can’t Pay You To Disappear” or “The FIZZ.”

Ultimately, the album takes few more listens to grasp, and you’ll miss the greater absence of Dawson’s background swoons, but Dog Poison marks a respectable transition for the group.

THE FIZZ